Chapter 423: Arms Sales
Far East.
Upon receiving an order from home, Richard quickly met with high-ranking officials of the Far Eastern government to begin promoting the weapons production line.
Richard went straight to Grand Secretary of the Far East and Governor of Zhili, Li Hongzhang, and got to the point: "Lord Li, just tell me—do you want it or not?"
Li Hongzhang, no stranger to military affairs and quite familiar with recent developments in the West, examined the sample Dreyse rifle Richard had brought and said, "The craftsmanship is indeed fine. However, Ambassador Richard, if I'm not mistaken, this Dreyse rifle didn't perform too well in the war between Prussia and France, so..."
You're even picking faults? Richard was a bit miffed, so he replied, "You're right—the Dreyse rifle's performance wasn't flawless. But for the current era, especially in the Far East, it's more than sufficient. From what I know, your top military arsenals are still producing extremely outdated muzzle-loading rifles. Our Dreyse rifle production line is clearly more advanced. This was already proven in the Austro-Italian War. Just take the Enfield 1853 rifles made at the Jinling Arsenal, for example—completely a generation behind."
"Ambassador Richard, that may be true, but at the moment, we don't have a need for this or any new procurement plans," Li replied calmly.
He had seen plenty of foreign arms salesmen before. And besides, the imperial court genuinely had no money right now.
But Richard wasn't in a hurry. He said, "Lord Li, don't be so quick to make a judgment. I think once you hear the price, you'll be interested. The entire Dreyse rifle production line is just 110,000 taels of silver. That's an unbeatable value. This isn't just ordinary weaponry—it's a full production line. With this setup, your military's needs can be completely met."
That price really wasn't high. This production line, running at full capacity, could supply the entire Far East. The East African army, for example, had maintained 200,000 regulars before downsizing, plus 700,000 militia and police, all equipped with domestically produced Dreyse rifles. By contrast, the standing army of the Far East was only about 800,000, so East Africa actually had more.
Of course, militia and police don't count as regular forces in East Africa, but their combat ability, especially in suppressing natives, was formidable. With such a vast territory and population, a huge military force was necessary.
Richard's words clearly startled Li Hongzhang. "Your country really only wants 110,000 taels?"
For reference, the Jinling Arsenal, then the Far East's largest military factory, had an annual budget of around 100,000 taels—yet its output was extremely limited.
Richard said, "That's right. And although this production line has been used by East Africa, we've only had it for a few years. It'll serve you well for many more. You're getting a real bargain."
Li Hongzhang thought for a moment and asked, "Still, we don't need such a large production line. Could your country offer a smaller version, at a reduced price?"
Richard shook his head. "That won't do. This is a one-time deal—either take all of it, or none. Besides, this kind of sale is already a loss for us. We're only charging you for the shipping, really, so the price can't be lowered further."
It truly was a loss—Ernst had paid a hefty sum to purchase the original equipment and transport it from Europe to East Africa. Now it would have to be shipped again to the Far East.
But it had to be done. Ernst placed great emphasis on developing East Africa's military strength. As the Dreyse rifle became obsolete, replacement was inevitable, even though it had only seen a few years of service.
In fact, Ernst only planned to sell about 60% of the equipment. The rest would be retained and modified to produce Mauser rifles. The Mauser, after all, was originally developed as an upgrade of the Dreyse, so the lines could be adapted with new components.
Realizing this, Li Hongzhang gave up haggling—at that price, some rigidity was understandable.
Still, he wanted to make sure East Africa wasn't playing a joke on them. The Far Eastern army was, on paper, the world's largest land army. Could a tiny German colony really provide enough arms to meet their needs?
So he asked cautiously, "Does your country truly have the capacity to supply this much equipment? If we were talking about Prussia or Austria, that'd be one thing. Their military scale is indeed vast. But East Africa…"
As exchanges between the Far East and East Africa grew, people in the Far East came to view East Africa more like India—a colony.
At first, East Africa had managed to intimidate the Far East by playing up its German connections—talking about Prussia and Austria as if it represented both powers. And those were no small nations.
And truthfully, it wasn't a lie. At the time, East Africa was still part of the Hechingen principality, which in turn belonged to Prussia. So saying it was "Prussian" wasn't inaccurate. After independence, East Africa stopped name-dropping Prussia and Austria as much, preferring to use the more general term "German."
Why was "German" vague? Because it covered a lot—Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein… even East Africa could claim the label. Culturally, East Africa was German. Racially, it was more mixed—but it insisted on being a German state nonetheless.
Someone like Adolf, a hyper-nationalist, probably wouldn't accept East Africans as "real Germans" if he knew the reality of their society. But that didn't matter. East Africa claimed the identity, and for now, Germany and Austria were willing to accept it—for strategic reasons if nothing else.
Richard added, "You don't have to take my word for it. Just ask Mr. Li Ge, your envoy in East Africa. You have a saying: 'Through a small hole, one sees the whole leopard.' He's the one peeking through."
Li Ge! If Richard hadn't brought him up, Li Hongzhang would've forgotten the man entirely. Originally sent to supervise the East African aid mission, Li Ge had never returned. Instead, a few months later, King Constantino of East Africa had sent a letter recommending him as ambassador. The Far Eastern government reluctantly agreed—Li Ge had only been a juren, a candidate official, and no one wanted to risk another envoy getting "stuck" the same way.
Truth be told, Li Hongzhang's skepticism was entirely reasonable. East Africa wasn't exactly broadcasting that it had an army of over a million. Outside of places like Cape Town and Mozambique, most countries—Germany included—still thought of East Africa as an average, unremarkable colony.
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